Halo Infinite's December Release Date is Hard to Trust

| August 25, 2021 |

| Comments count:0

A recent leak on the Microsoft Store seemingly revealed that Halo Infinite 'south release date is officially set for December 8th. That leak has since been verified by multiple outlets citing their own sources who have independently confirmed that information.

On the i hand, this release engagement feels like a sigh of relief. Halo Infinite was supposed to be the Xbox Series X/South biggest launch game (information technology was even prominently featured on the Xbox Series X's retail packaging), simply when developer 343 Industries announced in August of last year that they decided to delay the game to 2021 due to "development challenges" that included the "ongoing COVID-related impacts," they created a void in the Xbox library that was entirely understandable given the circumstances but heartbreaking to many nonetheless.

On the other paw, given what we know about the state of the industry at the moment and the history of Halo Infinite 's development, information technology's really hard to trust that Halo Infinite will really launch on December 8th or will be anywhere close to the terminal version of the game at that time if it does.

First off, it should be very clear at this time that 2021 is not going according to plan for almost major game evolution studios. While some of those challenges have been accelerated by unique exterior factors (most notably, the lawsuit that has rocked Activision Blizzard), the fact of the affair is that most of the video game industry is all the same battling the incredible challenges acquired by the Covid-nineteen pandemic even as some parts of the world look to slowly become back to whatever "normal" might look similar in the postal service-pandemic environs.

While it'south difficult to say how many games take been delayed specifically due to the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (unless a developer specifically says that is the case), it's like shooting fish in a barrel to imagine that games like Horizon Forbidden West , WWE 2K22 , and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction would have been released in 2021 were it not for these unbelievable circumstances. That's to say null of games that were delayed from 2020 to 2021 or titles like Cyberpunk 2077 that were nigh certainly impacted by the sudden change in working atmospheric condition.

The point is that it's currently fifty-fifty more difficult than ever earlier to finish a Triple-A game in a reasonable fourth dimension frame and ensure that it is released in the best condition possible. It's quite amazing to meet so many people act surprised when they hear that another game has been delayed. At this indicate, y'all should probably look every major upcoming game to be delayed right up until you're actually playing information technology. That'southward especially true of whatever championship with a late 2021 release date. Afterward all, December has long been a kind of lawmaking discussion for "this game could be delayed until side by side year," and that'due south especially true now.

That of form brings usa dorsum to Halo Infinite . As a Triple-A game with a December release date beingness finished in the midst of pandemic working conditions, Halo Infinite would already be a candidate for a likely delay even if the game's development had gone smoothly upwards until this point.

Of class, Halo Infinite 's evolution hasn't gone smoothly upwardly until this betoken. Nosotros've talked most this more extensively in the by, just the short version of a long story is that Halo Infinite 'south development has, by most accounts, been a years-long nightmare thus far. From staffing changes and reported creative differences to technical issues and bad first impressions, there accept been very few positive stories about Halo Infinite 's evolution over the final few years. Honestly, the recent success of the game's competitive multiplayer beta may be the closest that the game has come up to a meaning PR win in quite some time.

I really hope you also enjoyed Halo Space 's multiplayer beta, considering at the moment, it's looking like the game's free-to-play multiplayer might exist the only thing that has a shot of being released this year in anything resembling a completed class. We already knew that Halo Infinite 'southward Forge mode won't launch aslope the game, and while there'south a chance that some of the game'south even so mysterious entrada may be released this year, nosotros also now know that Halo Infinite 'due south co-op campaign options won't be bachelor until a later appointment.

In the best of times, a belatedly release appointment is an indication that a studio needs equally much time as possible to finish their projection in an effort to avoid the dreaded "next year" filibuster. While developers deserve as much fourth dimension equally they can become to finish their games in a way that doesn't force employees to suffer the horrors of crisis, the fact of the matter is that Halo Infinite 's red flags were clouding our ability to see this game's future long before Microsoft came out with this "only in time" 2021 release date that makes the game's time to come foggier than ever.

Maybe that's the big takeaway hither. There is a very practiced chance that Halo Space could still be delayed until 2022, but there is an equally good take chances that the game will "launch" in a state that allows united states to enjoy some pieces of content related to Halo Infinite while still waiting until 2022 to play something close to what we once imagined we would exist playing when Halo Space was finally released.

Halo Infinite 'due south release engagement could exist telling us a lot about the current state of the game and its hereafter. The question at present is, "How much do we trust that's going to exist the game'due south 'real' release date?"